Amid legal and political tensions, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, has appointed administrators for all 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) effective April 7, 2025. He also approved the reconstitution of boards for suspended agencies and parastatals.
The move, however, defies an interim injunction issued by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which barred Ibas from making such appointments pending a substantive hearing on April 14. The suit, filed by the PILEX Centre for Civic Education Initiative, alleges that the appointments violate constitutional provisions.
This latest twist adds fuel to the ongoing power tussle in Rivers politics, ignited after the expiration of the tenure of local council chairmen elected under former Governor Nyesom Wike. The crisis has since snowballed into a fierce battle between Wike loyalists and supporters of his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
With a Supreme Court ruling, dissolved councils, disputed elections, and now a state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu, Rivers State remains locked in political chaos. As legal battles intensify, the fate of grassroots governance hangs in the balance.
